Latch and lock



Nov. 15, 1938. H. G. BEE JELL LATCH AND LOCK 7 Filed July so, 1936 Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES LATCH AN D LOCK Henry George Bedell, Wellington, New Zealand, assignor to Spiral Locks Limited, Wellington, New Zcaland, a company of New Zealand Application July 30, 1936, Serial No. 93,408 In New Zealand August 9, 1935 6 Claims.

This invention relates to latches for doors, gates and the like, and in particular relates to the type of latch wherein a barrel is rotatably I mounted on either the hinged or rigid part and having a spirally formed groove in which operates a pin attached to the other part.

According hereto, the cylinder or barrel, having a spiral groove cut therein, is revolvably mounted upon either the hinged or rigid part,

and is provided with suitable means by which it may be rotated when required. The other part is provided with a latch stud which is adapted to enter the spiral groove in the barrel at the position to which it is ordinarily brought by a handle. The spiral groove ends in a non-spiral portion, and when the unit is being closed, the stud will revolve the barrel, and the latch stud will then pass into the non-spiral portion. In orderto open the hinged part, the handle may be operated so as to revolve the barrel until the stud is clear of the non-spiral portion of the groove and passes into the spiral portion.

The revolvable barrel may have fixed upon its circumference a latch bolt, and upon the operation of the barrel by the travel of the latch stud in the spiral groove, the latch bolt is carried into its closed position, and into engagement with a plate from which projects the latch studl The movement of the barrel can be reversed and the latch bolt disengaged by operating a handle which revolves the barrel in the reverse direction,

' means being employed between the barrel and the handle to enable the handle to return to normal position during the time that it is inopera-.

5 tive.

The invention will be described with the aid of the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the latch applied to a gate, and in a closed position. 40 Figure 2 is a similar view showing the latch open.

Figure 4 is a plan projected from Figure 2. Figure 5 is a sectional side elevation of the 5 device made up within a latch casing and applied Figure 3 is a plan projected from Figure 1.

According to the drawing, more particularly Figures 1 to 4, a barrel I, having. a spiral groove 2 out therein, is revolvably mounted. on a pin 3 projecting from a plate 4, which is fixed on a gate post 5 by screws't. The groove extends 5 partially around the barrel and ends in a straight or non-spiral portion 2 Whichisat a'position from the beginning of the groove about twothirdsthe circumference of the barrel. The barrel I'is provided with a'handle'l by which it 10 maybe rotated on the pin 3, and. which provides a weight to retain the barrel by gravity in its normal rest position. A plate 8, having an integral latch stud'S, is fixed to the gate III by screws II, the stud being adapted to enter the15' spiral groove 20 of the barrel, the normal or rest position thereof being shown in Figures 2 andv4, to which position the barrel is ordinarily brought by the weight of the handle. In such case, when the gate is being closed, the stud 9 20' will enter the spiral groove as indicated in Figure 4, and will thereby rotate the barrel and the handle with it in the direction of the" arrow in Figure 2, until thestud reaches the endof. the spiral part. of the groove .2 and entersthe non- 25 spiral portion 2 The handle has, during this.

-movement, moved from the position. in Figure 2 to the position in Figure 1, i. e. about threequarters of a turn. In this position the nonspiral end 2 of the groove acts as a stop for the 30 stud 9 and prevents the gate from opening. The handle rests on a lip l2 projecting from the plate 8, and the handle and the lip may be provided with holes I 2 throughwhich a padlock may be inserted for. locking the gate. In order to open the gate, the handle "I is lifted, so as to rotate the cylinder until the stud 9 is clear of the non-spiral portion 2 and is entered into the spiral portion of the groove. By the movement, of the handle being continued to its ordinary 40 pendant position, the gate will be opened, or, once the stud has been entered to the spiral portion of the groove, the pushing of the gate from the exterior will cause the stud to rotate the barrel until the stud is. clear of the groove; 1

In Figures 5 to 10, the device is shown applicable to a door or the like latch, in which case the barrel H with its spiral groove l4 endingwith the non-spiral portion 14, is mounted in a casing [5 adapted to be set into a mortise of a door IS. A latch stud ll (corresponding to stud 9) projects from 'a plate 18 which is fixed to the door jamb l9, and is normally adapted to enter a transverse slot 20 inthe front of the latch casing l5. A member forming a latch bolt 2| projects from the barrel l4 and, as the barrel rotates, the latch bolt 2| will pass through a vertical slot 22 in the front of the latch casing l5 and into a vertically disposed slot 23 in the plate l8. On the circumference of the barrel M, at one end thereof, teeth 24, are formed, the barrel having stub axles 26 rotatable in the latch casing. A Wheel 21 with teeth on a part of its circumference meshes with the teeth 24 and is mounted freely on the neck 28 of a socket 29 which is rotatable in the latch casing and which receives the bar 30 for attachment of suitable,

handles 3|. A tongue 32 on the socket 29 works around the gap between the teeth on the wheel 21 and limits the movement of the socket 29 by striking a pin 33 in the casing.

In operation, assuming that the door is about to be shut (see Figure 10) and the stud 17 about to enter the transverse slot 20 in the latch casing, then as the closing movement continues, the latch stud will enter the groove M in the barrel |3. During the travel of the door to its closed position, the stud I! will rotate the barrel and cause the latch bolt 2| to move from the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5 to the position shown in full lines, and to enter the slot 22 in the plate I 8. By the time the stud I! has reached the commencement of the non-spiral portion M, the bolt 2| will have commenced to enter the V shaped slot 23, the non-spiral portion enabling the latch bolt to have a final vertical movement downward into the V shaped slot, resulting in a wedging effect which will retain the door against lateral movement and so obviate rattling.

In order to disengage the latch, a handle 3| on the bar 30 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5, the tongue 32 engaging against a tooth of the toothed wheel 21, which will rotate the barrel [3. Immediately the movement commences, the bolt 2| will move from the slot 23, and when the barrel has been turned surficiently so that the stud moves from the nonspiral part M to the spiral portion M, the door will commence to open, and the opening movement continuing, the barrel will be rotated by the latch stud and throw back the latch bolt to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, and in full lines in Figure 9, with the bolt 2| resting on the socket and thus limits further rotation of the wheel 21. The socket 29 is returned to its normal position by means of a coil spring 34 attached to a lug 35 on the socket and anchored to the casing. Thus the handles are normally retained in the same position. The tongue 32 limits the movement of the handle in the direction opposite to that of the arrow by striking the pin 33.

What I claim is:-

1. In a latch, a latch casing with a transverse slot in its face, a barrel rotatably mounted in said latch casing, said barrel having a spiral groove around a portion of its periphery and ending in a non-spiral portion at the other end of said barrel, a latch bolt formed on said barrel, a latch plate, a latch stud attached to said latch plate adapted to enter the transverse slot in the casing and enter the spiral groove and rotate the barrel and latch bolt to engage the latch plate,

and means for manually rotating the barrel to cause the bolt to become disengaged from said latch plate and the latch stud from the spiral groove.

2. In the device as claimed in claim 1, teeth formed on a portion of said barrel, a socket rotatable in said casing, a wheel freely mounted on said socket, said wheel having teeth to engage the teeth on said barrel, a handle bar passing through said socket, means on said socket to rotate said wheel so that the barrel may be rotated to disengage the latch bolt from said latch plate.

3. In the device as claimed in claim 1, teeth formed on a portion of said barrel, a socket rotatable in said casing, a wheel freely mounted on said socket, said wheel having teeth to engage the teeth on said barrel, a handle bar passing through said socket, means on said socket to rotate said wheel so that the barrel may be rotated to disengage the latch bolt from said latch plate, said wheel having a gap between its teeth, a tongue on said socket working in the gap, and a spring to return the socket and the handles to normal position.

4. In the device as claimed in claim 1, said latch bolt being of knife edge form, and the opening in said latch plate of V shape.

5. In a latch device for securing two relatively movable parts, a barrel having a peripheral groove rotatably mounted on one of said parts and a stud on the other part adapted to engage and traverse the groove in said barrel, the groove having first a cam portion of such pitch and shape that the relative movement of the parts when being opened or closed will effect rotation of the barrel and secondly a locking portion contingous with the cam portion and being such that when the said stud has entered therein, the parts are locked against the normal opening movement until the barrel has been independently rotated, a latch bolt formed on said barrel, said bolt as the barrel is rotated engaging a slot in a latch plate from which said latch stud projects.

6. In a latch device for securing two relatively movable parts, a barrel having a peripheral groove rotatably mounted in one of the parts and a stud on the other part adapted to engage and traverse the groove in said barrel, the groove having first a cam portion of such pitch and U shape that the relative movement of the parts when being opened or closed will effect rotation of the barrel and secondly a locking portion contiguous with the cam portion and being such that when the said stud has entered therein, the parts 

